Canon add an early adopter premium at launch, this reduces gradually until around a year afterwards. Incidentally, by this time, they have also worked out any quality problems/firmware glitches with the camera.

So, if you can wait a year before buying your camera, you will get a better product at a much reduced price.

I don't get the issue with depreciation. In my mind, you set a price at which you say "now I'm willing to buy it, the camera or lens is worth this much to me" at that point you simply go out and buy it. Once you have done that, you have the pleasure of using it. I bought the pancake lens when it came out at 280 euro. Now it's only 200. You could say that I lost 80 euro on it, but it does not feel that way. I have been taking great pictures with it and love to have it on my camera. I love the lens at 300 euro, I love it at 200 and I would not have bought it, if it was 400. And the good news is that if it ever breaks down, I can now get a new one for only 200 euro now instead of 280. Every month you have it, is an extra month you can enjoy what you bought. Things can go down or up in value, but at least you have the object you desired. If the value of it bothers you so much, put the money to buy it it on a separate bank account and pretend you have bought it and hey presto, it becomes worth more every year.

What i always do is wait. Wait around 6 months from the launch of a new product then look at the reviews. If i need it I buy it. After that time the price stabilises and you get some second hand bargains. The 70/200 mk2 was well over £2100 when launched. Bought an almost new one 6 months later at £1600. Camera bodies the same. Whilst im no lover of big corporations, they charge what the individual market of that country will bear. If we dont like it, dont buy it then they will change their pricing policy. I did buy a new 500f4, £8200 full price. I know in 5 years time it will be worth the same or more. Dont know why Nikons stuff is that bit cheaper. I guess it depreciates less from launch and its what the market will bear.

Lower prices is never a problem. Instead, initial very high prices are. But we set our own rules. If price is very high and we think an item is not worth it we simply don't get it. Let them try to sell it.

For example this is what I am thinking about the new 24, 28, 35 IS prime lenses. They are simply not worth it. (But this is just me. I wouldn't get them anyway.)

Ok, so...you 'don't feel comfortable' buying Canon gear anymore, and yet, you bought more Canon gear, this very day. From that, one can only conclude that you enjoy the discomfort of being screwed over without lube...

Nikon realized they need to hook customers first before they can sell a lot. If they can bait enough from emerging clients from Asia, they will have a good customer base in the future. Once somebody is invested in a system, most of the time, they tend to stick to that system. I guess that's the reason of the current aggressive pricing of their camera bodies. Canon should be careful. Trends like these are like diseases. It will grow if you don't cut it. I also think that's the reason of Canon's action regarding prices. Once they've seen the competition, they are forced to bring down also their prices. I guess they're just trying to milk the market first during initial product launch then they bring down prices as soon as they can see some fluctuation from their sales figures. That's why it is always prudent to wait.

You should be on the other thread "right now i am not happy to be a canon user" and you two can have a pitty party. Booo hooo hooo hoo !!!!

Still stunned that people complain about spending their money. Damn Canon... they forced me to buy a great camera and now, months later, I don't like the price I paid because I couldn't wait. They screwed me!!!! Whaaaa whaaa... Adults make decisions about where to spend their money... you have no one to blame but yourself if you have buyer’s remorse. If you can't afford the price of entry and it's a financial hardship... you shouldn't be spending money you don’t have.

I could afford what I paid, I even held out about 4 months after release to see if the price would move, it did not, so I bought it. Then the price starts falling. I could afford it, I just don't like wasting money that could have been spent on other gear.

Again... buyers remorse. You should have waited until the mark 7 comes out, then you can score a mark 3 for for under 500$ on Ebay... in 2022! What I don't understand is how this is a "new" thing for some here. Like you were totally unaware there will be a price drop... A search of the threads on this forum will show that even before a new version comes out someone is asking "How long until the price drops on model X?"

I bought a 7D in 2009... I'm soooo pissed at the current price!!! Canon is horrible to lower the price that much. I wasted sooo much money. If only I had waited 3 years. The reality is that I bought the camera new and have enjoyed every single moment with it during this time... I was NOT ripped off. I put on my big boy pants, bought the camera and went out and took photos. I knew exactly what I was doing and I did not open a thread complaing about how evil Canon marketing is.

Take some solace in the fact that after the 21st you won’t have to wallow in the shame of spending more than you think you should have. Have a Happy Mayan New year!!!

You are talking 3 YEARS on the 7d price drop. I'm talking 3 months and its 20% cheaper, and I waited 3-4 months after release to see if it would fall due to the comments I read. That's quite a bit of difference in such a short time span. A toons are louder than words and as I stated on won't be buying anything else until at least a year after initial launch. I'm a hobbyist, so "jobs" mean nothing to me as far as recouping that early adopter surcharge that many of you mention.

Who cares about pricing? i don't.I just care that the product is well made.

Maybe it's surprising to you, but there are indeed people who are not photographing for living but just for fun every now and then. They can't set their gear off against tax liability and may also have other hobbies - but having said this: I don't understand either why these people need the latest gear...